Expert in design thinking to keynote FMA Annual Meeting

Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. (FMA), Elgin, Ill., has announced that Tamara Christensen, founder of the Idea Farm and faculty member at Thunderbird School of Global Management, will deliver the keynote presentation, “Transform Tension into Innovation,” on Friday, March 9, at the 2018 Annual Meeting.

In today’s fast-paced world, addressing complex business challenges requires diverse experts to work well together. Sadly, collaborative efforts often present a whole new set of obstacles to overcome. We often think about tension as something to minimize or alleviate, especially in cross-functional teams. But what if maximizing tension is the key to innovation and engagement?

With 20 years of experience in design thinking, research, and collaboration, Christensen will address the six dimensions of tension that pose obstacles for organizations and teams in their efforts to creatively solve problems. Learn how to leverage these competing forces to empathize with others and create a culture of real collaboration, innovation, and engagement.

An expert in cross-functional collaboration, Christensen empowers organizations and teams to transform tension into innovation. She teaches university courses at the Arizona State University and University of Kansas and presents at conferences around the world. Christensen works across industries with clients ranging from global Fortune 100 corporations to small, local not-for-profits. Her clients include Honeywell, Johnson Controls, VML, Anglo American, The New York Times, Pharmavite, Bausch + Lomb, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, and SRP (Salt River Project). She is author of the book F-ing Innovation: Why Innovation is Hard and What to Do About It.

The FABRICATOR®'s Leadership Summit, Toll Processing Conference, and ASD Spring Convention tracks of FMA’s Annual Meeting will be held at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., March 7-9, 2018. More than 300 owners; top-level executives; and budding leaders of job shops and metal producers, processors, and distributors are expected to attend.

Additional details on the program, registration, sponsorships, and exhibit opportunities can be found at fmanet.org/annualmeeting or by calling 888-394-4362.